Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Assessments of water affordability inform decisions about utility rates, assistance programs, and more. But the traditional metric for assessment often falls short, leading government agencies and water utilities to underestimate the true number of households at risk of losing affordable access to basic water service. Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University researchers offer a new approach to measuring water affordability that could help identify and aid those most at risk.

Six ambitious projects to sustain the ocean will receive over $700,000 in funding from 2024 Big Ideas for Oceans seed grants jointly awarded by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Oceans Department at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The projects bring together interdisciplinary teams of marine biologists, oceanographers, chemists, social scientists, and medical scientists to pursue adaptation and mitigation strategies for global challenges such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change. 2024 topics include: 🐟 A process for decolonizing ocean governance  🪸 Impacts of heat on a coral’s protective surface slime  ⚒️ Use of Minecraft in K-12 ocean education 🦠 Role of bacteria in ocean productivity ⚡ Potential of electrical currents to rejuvenate sea life 🔍 The journey of microplastics, like the fragments pictured here, at sea Learn more about the 2024 grant recipients ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gsYCfyxF 📸: Nan Wu, British Antarctic Survey

Bringing together expertise from Stanford University and Egon Zehnder, “Championing Sustainability from the Boardroom” is a course designed to equip current board members of public companies with essential knowledge spanning the science, business, and stewardship of sustainability. Applications now open: https://lnkd.in/ggPjwjnz #sustainability #leadership

Join Anvesh Badamikar as he shares #FieldNotes on education and infrastructure solutions for children's water, sanitation, and hygiene behaviors in India 🧼 https://lnkd.in/gs8AC-qx Jenna Davis + students and researchers with Stanford University's Program on Water, Health, and Development worked with local partners World Vision India, Oxford Policy Management, and leading child education and development experts to conduct a trial for #WASH interventions in primary schools. Learn more about how to partner with us or apply for graduate programs at https://lnkd.in/gJkD65Kw Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Stanford University School of Engineering

Minor changes in oxygen levels ➡️ big changes in ecology. Challenging a long-held belief among scientists, new research suggests that the Cambrian explosion, a rapid burst of evolution 540 million years ago, may have been caused by only a small increase in Earth’s atmospheric oxygen levels.

Missed the latest On Our Planet newsletter? Here are some highlights from this month’s edition: 📚 17 books for summer 📄 The first example of cellular origami 🌲 Wide-ranging benefits of forest restoration …and more Read and subscribe: https://bit.ly/OOPJune24 📸: Prakash Lab/Andrew Myers, Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank

Looking for your next summer read? Faculty and scholars associated with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability share 17 book recommendations that may provide new perspectives, motivate action, and fuel critical thinking about Earth, climate, and society: https://lnkd.in/ggmpnhpY

Praised for his patience as a mentor, engaging lecture style, and devotion to his research, this year’s Excellence in Teaching Award winner is Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University research engineer and lecturer Kyle Douglas. “He strongly drives [home] the fact that all of us have the ability to make change in our fields, especially in sustainability in the built environment,” wrote one of his student nominators. More about Douglas and the award:

Press Release | Natural Capital Symposium returns to Stanford This year, the Natural Capital Project once again hosted the Natural Capital Symposium at Stanford after a 5 year hiatus. Over 400+ attendees from around the world convened with a focus on mainstreaming natural capital approaches – which evaluate nature’s benefits to people – in investment and policy decisions: stanford.io/4c8XY9Q

That feeling when your lab experiment works 🌈 Yirui Zhang and teammates in Jennifer Dionne's group successfully used lasers and #MachineLearning to identify bacteria in #wastewater 💩 for early disease detection. Read more in our latest #InFocus feature ➡️ stanford.io/4c9hhQ9 Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Zhang is a postdoc at Stanford University School of Engineering supported by Schmidt Science Fellows.